Microbio 303 Exam questions and
answers graded A+
What is a microbe? - ANS✅✅anything that exists as a single cell, has DNA as a genome, and can
replicate that genome
Characteristics of Bacteria - ANS✅✅• Most are single-celled organisms
• Asexual reproduction
• Simple morphology
• Complex and diverse metabolism
• A few are important pathogens
Characteristics of Archaea - ANS✅✅• Most are single-celled organisms
• Asexual reproduction
• Simple morphology
• Complex and diverse metabolism
• None, so far, are human pathogens
Characteristics of Eukarya - ANS✅✅• Some are single-celled organisms, some are colonial or
multicellular
• Asexual or sexual reproduction
• Simple or complex morphology
• Relatively simple metabolism
A viroid - ANS✅✅infectious RNA
Reasons to study microbes - ANS✅✅1. Biological impact- they are the most abundant organism on
the planet
2. Basic research- easy to study model organisms
3. Medical importance-they cause many diseases but they are also important beneficial to human
health
4. Agricultural importance- plant impact and soil health
,5. Applications- Biotechnology and food
Thonis Philipszoon - ANS✅✅First to observe microorganisms because he was able to develop great
quality lenses
Walter and Angelina Fannie Hesse - ANS✅✅Developed Agar
Louis Pasteur - ANS✅✅investigated wine disease in France and showed that the infection was in
lactic acid bacteria, and he proposed the germ theory of disease
Germ Theory of Disease - ANS✅✅Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch (among others) demonstrated
that specific microbes cause specific disease
Small pox - ANS✅✅•Highly infectious
•Mortality rates up to 25% in adults , 40% in children.
•Scarring due to the blister-like pustules
•Life long immunity
Variolation - ANS✅✅11th century in India and China
• Liquid from the pustules of a smallpox victim, give mild infection
•Life-long protection against the virus.
Variolation side effects - ANS✅✅•Serious skin lesions inevitably resulted at the site of inoculation
•The fatality rate from variolation was 1 to 2 %.
Edward Jenner (1796) - ANS✅✅• Jenner inoculated a young patient with cowpox
• Later challenged him with smallpox.
• The boy did not become ill
Tom Brock - ANS✅✅• Intrigued by hot springs
• Isolates first extreme thremophiles >80°C
• Thermus aquaticus
, •This is important for PCR
What does bad wine have to do with human disease? - ANS✅✅Germ theory of disease
Why are microbes in the colon important? - ANS✅✅Discovery of E. coli
Why support microbial research of the sulfur
pots of Yellowstone? - ANS✅✅Tom Brock-> Thermus aquaticus-> PCR
All cells are made of: - ANS✅✅proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, sugars, and various small molecules
Function of membranes - ANS✅✅- Maintain barrier
- Sense outside world
- Contain cell components
Functions that are common to all microbes - ANS✅✅compartmentalization and metabolism,
reproduction (growth), and evolution
Functions that are not common to all microbes but are common to most - ANS✅✅Differentiation,
Communication, and Movement
Why do cells have so many different shapes? - ANS✅✅• Nutrient acquisition
• Defense from predators
• Attachment to surfaces
• Dispersal
• Motility
• Differentiation
Different methods of visualizing microbial structures - ANS✅✅• Light microscope
• Fluorescent microscope
• Phase-contrast microscope
• Confocal microscope
answers graded A+
What is a microbe? - ANS✅✅anything that exists as a single cell, has DNA as a genome, and can
replicate that genome
Characteristics of Bacteria - ANS✅✅• Most are single-celled organisms
• Asexual reproduction
• Simple morphology
• Complex and diverse metabolism
• A few are important pathogens
Characteristics of Archaea - ANS✅✅• Most are single-celled organisms
• Asexual reproduction
• Simple morphology
• Complex and diverse metabolism
• None, so far, are human pathogens
Characteristics of Eukarya - ANS✅✅• Some are single-celled organisms, some are colonial or
multicellular
• Asexual or sexual reproduction
• Simple or complex morphology
• Relatively simple metabolism
A viroid - ANS✅✅infectious RNA
Reasons to study microbes - ANS✅✅1. Biological impact- they are the most abundant organism on
the planet
2. Basic research- easy to study model organisms
3. Medical importance-they cause many diseases but they are also important beneficial to human
health
4. Agricultural importance- plant impact and soil health
,5. Applications- Biotechnology and food
Thonis Philipszoon - ANS✅✅First to observe microorganisms because he was able to develop great
quality lenses
Walter and Angelina Fannie Hesse - ANS✅✅Developed Agar
Louis Pasteur - ANS✅✅investigated wine disease in France and showed that the infection was in
lactic acid bacteria, and he proposed the germ theory of disease
Germ Theory of Disease - ANS✅✅Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch (among others) demonstrated
that specific microbes cause specific disease
Small pox - ANS✅✅•Highly infectious
•Mortality rates up to 25% in adults , 40% in children.
•Scarring due to the blister-like pustules
•Life long immunity
Variolation - ANS✅✅11th century in India and China
• Liquid from the pustules of a smallpox victim, give mild infection
•Life-long protection against the virus.
Variolation side effects - ANS✅✅•Serious skin lesions inevitably resulted at the site of inoculation
•The fatality rate from variolation was 1 to 2 %.
Edward Jenner (1796) - ANS✅✅• Jenner inoculated a young patient with cowpox
• Later challenged him with smallpox.
• The boy did not become ill
Tom Brock - ANS✅✅• Intrigued by hot springs
• Isolates first extreme thremophiles >80°C
• Thermus aquaticus
, •This is important for PCR
What does bad wine have to do with human disease? - ANS✅✅Germ theory of disease
Why are microbes in the colon important? - ANS✅✅Discovery of E. coli
Why support microbial research of the sulfur
pots of Yellowstone? - ANS✅✅Tom Brock-> Thermus aquaticus-> PCR
All cells are made of: - ANS✅✅proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, sugars, and various small molecules
Function of membranes - ANS✅✅- Maintain barrier
- Sense outside world
- Contain cell components
Functions that are common to all microbes - ANS✅✅compartmentalization and metabolism,
reproduction (growth), and evolution
Functions that are not common to all microbes but are common to most - ANS✅✅Differentiation,
Communication, and Movement
Why do cells have so many different shapes? - ANS✅✅• Nutrient acquisition
• Defense from predators
• Attachment to surfaces
• Dispersal
• Motility
• Differentiation
Different methods of visualizing microbial structures - ANS✅✅• Light microscope
• Fluorescent microscope
• Phase-contrast microscope
• Confocal microscope
